Brilliant Autumn Colours at last!

At last, brilliant autumn colours - even in a supermarket car park!

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Hints of Autumn

This year we are still enjoying warm summer weather - autumn has been postponed with just the odd hint of rich colour here and there.

Village streets scattered with golden horse-chestnut leaves

Oak leaves turning in Ditchley Park

Dark clouds over the Queen's Pool, Blenheim Park

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Anne

Walk the Landscape - guided and self-guided walks in the Cotswolds and the Heart of England

Ugly ducklings and Mallard babes on the Oxford Canal

A family of mute swans

The juveniles are almost full grown but still with the brownish-grey feathers.

They will gradually become whiter and will leave their parents territory in a few weeks time.

This mallard mum's certainly got her 'feet' full with such a large large brood

It's unusual to see such young ducklings at this time of year - and usually happens when the first clutch is destroyed.

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Anne

WalkTheLandscape.co.uk

A View from the Cotswold Edge

The westward view across the Vale of Gloucester

from the Iron Age Fort at Crickley Hill, above Cheltenham in the Cotswolds.

Crickley Hill is the most completely known hillfort in the south of England. Sited on a westward facing promontory on the Cotswold Edge, it is thought to have been originally constructed as a heavily defended settlement around 650BC. The embankment in the foreground of the picture (now part of the circular path) was part of the substantial fortifications.

Built during a period of adverse climate change, that archaeologists believe led to migration from marginal areas, increased competition for the lowlands and unrest, the fort at Crickley Hill was destroyed by fire on two separate occasions.

This is an interesting place to walk to for both its history and the fantastic views over the west of England to the Welsh hills.

Anne

Walk the Landscape

A perfect walk for a Monday morning

The Edgehill Battlefield from the Castle Inn, the spot where the Royal Standard was displayed before the battle. A perfect walk for a Monday morning in August!

Walk the Landscape

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A Walk Through Blenheim Park

John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough (1650-1722), the aristocrat, politician and above all military commander, was a national hero.

In reward for his service to the country and for victories at the Battle of Blenheim (1702) and other battles in the War of Spanish Succession(1701 – 1714), Queen Anne and the Nation awarded him the manor of Woodstock, a Royal deer park, on which to build a palace.

The result was a sumptuous palace designed by the architect, Sir John Vanbrugh and a park designed by the landscape gardener, Capability Brown.

Ancient Rights of Way still pass through the Park allowing an impressive circular walk of 7 miles, with magnificent views across the Great Lake to the Grand Bridge and the Palace itself.

Blenheim Palace from Queen Pool

A cloudy and overcast start to the walk

Cycling towards the Column of Victory

Dappled shade

Sheep pastures under blue skies

Backwater reflections

The Grand Bridge

Blenheim Palace on a gorgeous summer afternoon

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Anne

walkthelandscape.co.uk

The Oxfordshire Way in Autumn

Now that we are well into mid-summer and the main holidays are just about over, it's time to start thinking about how to enjoy the landscape in all it's autumn glory.

So why not join us to walk the Oxfordshire Way from 15th to 21st October?

This trail starts in Bourton-on-the-Water and wends it's way through the Oxfordshire countryside to Henley-on-Thames, passing through the Cotswolds, the Thames Valley and the Chiltern Hills along the route.

It moves from picturesque villages built from honey coloured Cotswold limestone

to the beech woods of the Chiltern escarpment, with their secluded villages in flint and brick architecture

and prosperous towns along the River Thames.

We arrange B&B and luggage transfer, seek out good pubs to relax in for dinner after a good day's walk and our guide ensures your holiday is trouble free.

If you're interested please contact us at Walk the Landscape and we look forward to walking the Oxfordshire Way with you in October.

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